Post pandemic dining, traffic, to be reviewed by Hermosa Beach city staff
by Dan Blackburn
Council Member Mike Detoy said outdoor dining “has been a lifeline to our restaurants.”
Council member Mary Campbell said, “This is just a start of how good this could become.”
But following a lengthy discussion at Tuesday evenings council meeting, the council asked staff to review what City environmental Programs Manager Doug Krauss identified as potentially problematic issues. No deadline for the review’s completion was specified.
The issues included:
— Should the expanded outdoor dining, and retail continue to be allowed in the public right-of-way? On sidewalks? On Pier plaza? In street parking spaces?
— Should the city charge fees for dining in the public right-of-way?
— Should outdoor dining and retail be allowed to remain on private parking areas.
— Should outdoor music and alcohol sales with food, approved by the council during the pandemic, continue to be allowed.
— Should the dedication of car lanes to bicycle lanes along Pier and Hermosa avenues be continued?
In other business:
The city council unanimously approved a $250 fine for dogs off leash, and for dogs on the beach. The fine was previously $100. To facilitate collection of the fines, the council also approved making the fines an administrative penalty, rather than treating the violations as infractions. ER